


The Gold Motel: Closet Skeletons

by mrgoldsdearie



Series: The Gold Motel [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Once Upon a Time Fusion, F/M, Horror, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-17
Updated: 2015-04-17
Packaged: 2018-03-23 11:30:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3766477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrgoldsdearie/pseuds/mrgoldsdearie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumbelle AU inspired by the movie Psycho - Belle deals with stress after killing Cora and tries to find a way of getting rid of Robert Gold. A man checks into the motel asking questions about the Gold family</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gold Motel: Closet Skeletons

**Author's Note:**

> This is sooooo late, but it’s dedicated to anonymousnerdgirl‘s birthday. I hope you and everyone else likes it.

It’s been a month since the horrifying night little Baelee Cassidy was almost ripped from her home. But Belle, being the protector that she is, stop to it from happening. She exterminated the kidnapping, heartless, bitch out of their lives and afterwards Robert Gold (Papa’s chosen name) cleared the gory scene. Belle made a promise to him that night. If he would keep what she did to Cora from Norman, she would allow him to emerge freely and have a chance at his own life and Robert agreed to keep her secret. Belle haven’t seen him since that night, however, and everyday that passes she dreads the moment when he’ll finally make her own up to her words.

Belle is deviated and constantly thinks about what she did to Cora. The rage that filled inside her was primal and she has never felt that way before, or since.

She frightened herself.  

Belle has no one to talk to about what she did, she can never tell Norman. He would blame himself for what happened and try to stay away from her to keep his family safe, but Belle could never live without him.

She tries her best not to show her heavy burden, keeping it all locked away inside. She knows that night changed her forever, she can feel it, but she desperately ties to live each day without that feeling haunting her. Belle needs to be the best mother and wife that she can and stay strong for family. She thinks the best way to protect Norman and Baelee is to get rid of Papa, before he tries to return. She doesn’t like the idea of him being around their daughter and out on his own in the world. Belle talks to Dr. Hopper without Norman’s knowledge and tries to get a perception to help Norman with his condition.

“Doctor, it’s not that he’s getting worse. I don’t think he is.” Belle speaks quietly into the kitchen phone, as she peeks into the living room to make sure Norman stays on the couch with the baby. “I’m just really concerned and I think it’s time to try medicine again.”

“Belle, we both know your husband doesn’t want to use meds. You can’t force him,” Dr. Hopper states.

“I know, but I feel like we have to do something different. He haven’t tried the meds in years, maybe there’s something he can try that isn’t too strong.”

“There might be, but I can’t allow you to give it to him without his knowledge. Talk to him about it, get him to consent and I’ll look into something new.”  

“Alright, doctor, but I don’t think he will.”

“You said he isn’t getting worse.”

“Yes.” She doesn’t think Norman is getting worse. He doesn’t drift in and out of the two personalities as much as he use to. She’s just highly concerned about the idea of Papa coming out on his own. 

“Then you shouldn’t have any issues. If he says no about the medicine and you feel like he still needs counseling, have him come in to see me by the end of the month.”

This isn’t what Belle wanted at all. She didn’t want to have to talk to Norman about trying medicine again. If she does that, then he’ll know Papa has been out recently. “Alright. Thank you Dr. Hopper.”

“You’re welcome. Call anytime you need anything.”

“Goodbye.”

“Bye, bye now.”

Belle hangs up the phone and falls back against the wall, thinking of the best way to approach the task at hand.

The kitchen door suddenly swings open and Norman steps in, blowing kisses on Baelee’s plump cheeks, causing her to giggle like crazy.

Belle jumps up from the wall, hearing the explosive laughter of her child, and tries to look as if she isn’t deeply worried.

“You’ve b-b-been in here for a while, d-d-dearie. We were starting to th-th-think you were cooking something.” Norman makes light fun of his wife’s cooking abilities.

“You know I have to try more. I need to get better, for her.”

“I know that, my love.”

Norman’s words send tingles down Belle’s spine. The last time he called her my love, the words were being spoken in Papa’s voice. “Why did you call me that?”

“Call you what, d-d-dearie?” He sits at the kitchen table and blows more kisses on the baby’s cheeks.

Belle sighs and thinks she over reacting a bit. She shouldn’t think too much into such a small thing. “Nothing, never mind, sweetie.” She takes the chair next to him.

“D-d-did you make that ice order for the machine?”

“What?” Belle questions.

“The ice, d-d-dearie. Did you go down to make this months order?”

“I thought you were doing that.”

"You have to go d-d-down and sign the order forms. I can’t drive with my blackouts.”

“Shit. I forgot all about that, sweetie.” Belle rests her head in her hands.

“Are you alright, Belle? You’ve b-b-been forgetting a lot of things lately and that’s not like you.” Norman takes her hand.

“I’m fine, I’m fine, Norman. Nothing to worry about.” She stands from the table and kisses her daughters head. “I’m going to do that right now, before it gets too late in the day.”

“Alright.”

“Are you fine with Bae?”

“Yes.” He stands, holding little Bealee high on his shoulders. “Why wouldn’t I be, d-d-dearie?”

“I’m just making sure, sweetie, cause I can take her with me if you want.” She strokes her hand across his brow, removing the hair from his face.

“N-n-no, we’re fine, I have her.”

Belle trust Norman with the baby. She always has and she always will, but she asked to take her just in case Norman isn’t feeling well. With the knowledge that Papa could return at any moment, signs of a headache or lightheadedness could be a clue to a Papa episode. “Okay, sweetie, like I said, I was just making sure.” She kisses him lovingly on the lips. “I won’t be long.” She checks her pockets for the car keys.

Norman pulls the keys from his pocket and shakes them in Belle’s face. “Bae tried to eat them.” He smirks.

“You little giggle monster.” She tickles Baelee’s belly and she laughs at her silly mother. “Thank you, sweetie.” She takes the keys from him. “I’ll be back.” She kisses her husband again and leaves the kitchen.

##  *******

Belle dashes down the steps on the hill and enters her yellow bug. She puts the key into the ignition, as a blue and white pickup truck pulls into the motel driveway. She steps out of the car, closes the door and heads into the office to quickly help the visitor check in. She needs to move on to run her errand and get back to Norman and the baby.

A man climbs out of the truck and makes his way to the office. He has dark brown short hair, messily spiked all over his head, like the only thing he did to it was to run his hands through it. His deep chocolate eyes are shielded from the sun by his hand, as he walks closer to the building. With the stubble of a goatee and mustache peppered on his face, he steps into the office giving Belle a smile that’s reminiscent of her husband’s.

“Welcome to The Gold Motel.” Belle greets their only patron.

“Hey,” he replies with a crooked grin.

Belle pulls out the sign in book and opens it to the first page. Shocked to find no names on the page, she flips through the book and discovers all the signatures are on different pages. She’s told Norman many times about opening the book to any page and letting people sign in. Looks like she’s going to have to go back to keeping the books. “Sign at the top please.” She turns the book to the man, handing him a pen.

“Sure.” He quickly signs his name and returns the book to Belle. “This is a curious motel, isn’t it?” The man strikes up a conversation.

Even though she’s in a hurry, she must be courteous to the guest and make them feel welcomed. “What do you mean?” She looks down at the book and notices his last name is, Cassidy, just like Baelee’s middle name, but she doesn’t think much of the coincidence.

“Well, it’s in a small town, which I’m sure gets zero visitors from tourist and the lactation is pretty odd. It’s almost in the middle of the forest. Don’t you want people to find this place?”

“Well things are slow, but we don’t do too bad. You found us, after all.”

“You’re right about that. I’m not saying people don’t come here. I’m pretty sure they do, but not without a reason.”

“I suppose, but we don’t know why people come here. We make sure the books are signed, keep the rooms clean and that our customers have everything they need. The reason they’re here, we almost never know.”

“I guess you’re right about that as well.” He smirks. “Can I ask you something?”

“It depends on what it is.” She thinks he very chatty, too chatty for a woman in a hurry.

“Nothing too personal, I hope.”

Belle is very curious about his question. He seems like an intelligent man and she wants to know what’s on his mind. “Well, fire away.”

“The Gold’s, the namesake of this place, are they still around?”

“Why are you looking for them?” Belle’s curiosity turns into suspicion.  

“Never mind, they’re probably long gone anyway.” He shakes his head. “Can I just get my room key, please?”

A bit unsettled, Belle quickly turns to the keys hanging on the hooks and takes down the key to cabin seven. “Here.” She circles back to him, holding out the key.

“Thank you, miss.” He gently takes the key from her.

“Don’t hesitate to ask for anything.” She tries not to speak so harshly, but the words roughly slip from her lips anyway.

He remains being a kind gentlemen, even though she is a little rude. “I won’t, miss.” He nods with a grin and heads out of the office.  

“Oh!” She tries to redeem herself from her slight rudeness. “The WiFi password is father, all caps.”

“Thank you.” He gives her another nod and exits the office.

Belle sighs heavily. As if she needed another thing to add to her list of worries. This man is asking questions about her family and Belle doesn’t like it. She can’t tell much about him just from his laid back appearance, but he can be anyone. With the events that seem to happen behind the walls of this motel, someone showing up and asking questions is not the kind of thing they need right now. Belle storms out of the office, locking the door behind her and returns to her yellow bug. She leaves the motel to make her run out to order ice for the machine and return back home as quickly as she can.

##  *******

Almost twenty minutes after Cassidy checked in, Belle returns to the motel and enters the manor. The house is quiet and that’s not unusual, but the living room is a mess. With Baelee’s clothes and toys all over the place, this isn’t the way the house looked when Belle left it. “Norman?” she calls.

*knock, knock, knock*

She hears banging through the ceiling. “Norman?” She rushes up to the second floor and she’s cut off at the head of the stairs by her husband.

“Shhh!” He aggressively shushes her and shifts the weight of his body to his left side, leaning on a gold handle, black cane.

Belle’s eyes widen in shock to the state of her husband and she’s furious. “No! What the fuck are you doing here?” She lowers her brow.

“I just got her to sleep and you’re making all of this ruckus. Didn’t you hear me knocking? It means keep quiet.” Norman speaks harshly in Papa’s voice, but keeps his tone low.

Belle glares at him, breathing heavily. She can’t believe that he’s barking orders at her. “Papa, Robert, whatever the hell your name is… You have to go and go now.”

“Are you kicking me out, lass?” Papa steps closer to her and she takes a step back to the edge of the stairs, but stands her ground. “We had a deal. I kept your secret from Norman and he’s just as blind and stupid to the shit happening around him than he’s ever been. All that is thanks to you, by the way,” Papa sneers. “I gave you a month to get your shit together with him and you never did. So it’s obvious you’re not going to tell him. I kept my end of the deal and even more so. You need to stick to yours!” he growls through his teeth.

“Get out of my face!” She pushes him away from her and dashes to check on Baelee. Belle is relieved to find her sleeping peacefully.

“Did you think something was gonna happen to her?”

Belle turns to him in the doorway. “You’re here, so yes!” She pushes him out of the nursery and closes the door.

“Well, it didn’t. I’ll never let anything happen to the little nugget. I would die to protect her.”

“I don’t want you alone with her and if you’re going to show up, you can’t do it while I’m gone.”

“Fine, I understand.”

“Wait, you do?” Belle can’t fucking believe it.

“Of course I do. What happened with Nugget was my fault and I understand why you don’t want me alone with her.”

“Good!”

Papa limps down the stairs on his cane.

“You can’t stay long.” She chases after him. “I don’t wanna confuse the baby. I don’t want her to think you’re her father.”

“She already knows the difference.” Papa shoves all the toys and clothes off the living room couch.

“What?”

He picks up a pillow from the floor and lays down in the couch. “She already knows the difference. As soon as I showed up, she tuned into a little shit. That’s why the place is a mess. I tried everything to get her to shut up. That’s definitely Norman’s kid.” He cuddles under Baelee’s little pink crocodile blanket.

“Wait, what are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m taking a nap. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve took an afternoon nap?”

Belle gawks at him confused. “No.”

“Neither do I, so don’t wake me.” He turns away from her in the couch and closes his eyes.

“Ugh!” she groans and storms up the stairs to the nursery. There isn’t much she can do about Norman’s current state. She struck a deal with Robert Gold and he has kept to his word. Now she has no choice but to stick to hers, but this doesn’t mean she isn’t gonna lay down any ground rules.

Papa sleeps for a couple of hours and Belle keeps a close watch on him. She doesn’t trust him as far as she can throw him and she doesn’t want him out of her site.

When he finally wakes from his long nap, Belle’s face is the first thing he sees. “Your gorgeous, lass, and I see why Norman likes you, but this isn’t what I expected to wake up to.”

She takes a step back. He looks just like Norman waking up and she has to keep herself from wanting to kiss him. “There’s gonna be a lot of things you didn’t expect.”

“So, it looks like we’re at the part where you’re gonna tell me what to do.” He sits up, rubbing his eyes.

“Yes.” She sits next to him, but scoots back. She was a little too close for comfort.

“What are they? What ridiculous restrictions do you wanna put on me?”

“You can't hurt anyone.”

“I know that one already.”

“I’m just making sure. That’s the big one that I can’t stress enough.”

“Okay… I get it.”

”Good. You can’t leave the house either.”

He gapes at her, astounded. There’s no way she’s keeping him locked in the house. “That’s insane, lass.”

“You have to do what I say, it’s part of the deal.”

“I don’t think you understand why I want to come out.”

“I’m pretty sure I do, to make my life a living hell.”

“This isn’t about you. I need to get away from Norman’s shit.” he boldly states. “I’m always dealing with his problem or yours. I need to be on my own and being stuck in this house defeats the whole purpose.”

“Well I can’t let you out in town. People know Norman, people like him and they can’t meet you.”  

Papa can care less about Norman’s good reputation. It’s not like he wants to meet anyone Norman knows, he doesn’t even like people. “How about this, let me go out to the motel. I can’t be stuck in this house. It will drive me crazy.”

“You’re already crazy.”

“You know exactly what I meant. There’s no reason to be rude.”

“Fine, only as far as the motel.”

“Now you’re being fair.”

“Oh shut up,” she yells frantic. This is the last thing she wanted to deal with. “I’m trying to think.”

“Just relax, lass. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes you are,” she snaps. “You can’t be here everyday. The baby needs Norman and I need him too. You can only show up once a month.”

“That’s not enough!” he barks. “One week every month.”

“No, no.” She shakes her head. “I can’t have Norman away from me for a week. The most time he has ever lost and couldn’t remember has been two days and I can’t give you more than that.”

“Ugh!” He falls back in the couch. “You’re a tough fucking negotiator.”

“I have to be, I’m protecting my husband.”

“Fine.”

“And since you’re going to be down at the motel anyway, you might as well work.” She knows this will keep him busy and also a way to track him. If something doesn’t get done in the motel, she’ll know he was doing something he shouldn’t. “You know what to do down there, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Papa replies offended. “I was running this place long before you showed your pretty little face.”

“Alright.” She stands from the couch. “There’s one more thing.”

“Yeah, well what’s that?” He curls up his lip, giving her a cruel smile.

“I want Norman to come back tonight. I need to tell him goodbye,” her voice wobbles, as she holds back tears.

The smirk on Papa’s face fades and he can see how heartbroken she truly is. “He’s not leaving you forever, sweetheart,” he speaks softly.

“I know that, but I need him tonight.” She wipes a lonely tear from her face. “Then, I won’t give a shit about what you do tomorrow.” She storms up the stairs. Belle has had enough of talking to him and looking at that face, knowing it isn’t Norman is making her feel so alone.

Papa can understand why Belle is so upset, but he really want this time for himself and Belle is just going to have to face the fact that he will be around for awhile.

##  *******

After Belle laid down the rules for him to live by, Robert Gold takes a look at the clock on the wall and he still has a few hours before the sun is to set. He sits back in the couch and relaxes. He’s gonna spend the rest of the daylight savoring his new freedom.

Robert stands up from the couch, then looks at his reflection in a picture of Belle on the wall and he doesn’t like that he’s wearing Norman’s stupid black and white checkered shirt. “What does he do, wear this thing every fucking day?” he mumbles to himself and gimps up stairs to the bedroom.

He enters the room and cuts his eyes at Belle.

She’s sitting on the bed, changing the baby’s diaper.

“Don’t you worry, I’m not staying long, lass.” He limps to the closet.

“What are you doing?” she suspiciously questions.

“Just getting a change of clothes. Norman still dresses like the little boy that used to herd sheep in Scotland.”

“Norman used to herd sheep?”

“What?” He turns to her, shocked. “He’s never told you that?”

“No.” Belle picks up Baelee and sits her up in the bed. “He doesn’t like talking about his childhood and I respect that. So I try not to ask.”

“Well, he didn’t do it long, maybe a year or two before we moved to the US.”

“What do you mean by we moved? You were there?”

“Of course I was there, I’m his father.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Papa eyes Belle, as his nose flares and his upper lip twitches. She’s asking too many questions.

Belle is growing more curious about Norman’s past. “Have you been with him his whole life?”

Papa grunts and quickly turns back to the closet, pulling clothes off the hangers, tossing them to the floor.

“I asked you a question.”

“And this is me refusing to answer.” He finds a black suit hanging in the back of the closet and pulls it out. “I was starting to think he had no taste.” His eyes shimmers when he finds a plain black shirt with a pink and black paisley tie. “You must have bought this for him, didn’t you?” He turns back to Belle, holding the clothes.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Because it doesn’t look like something I would milk a sheep in.” He shuffles to the door to change in the bathroom.

“Robert, wait.”

He stops in his tracks. It’s the first time today she said his name and meant it. It made him feel like a real person.

Belle picks up the baby and meets Papa in the doorway. “Are you going down to the motel after you change?”

He nods.

“A man checked in earlier today and I don’t want you talking to him.”

“You want me to work while I’m down there, but you don’t want me to talk to the customers?” He looks to her bewildered. “That’s not how it works, lass.”

She doesn’t like the way the man was asking about the Gold family and afraid that Papa (just being who he is) might say something stupid. “Just don’t talk to him. He said something about wanting to keep to himself.” She lies.

“Okay.” He shrugs his shoulders.

“You’re going to listen to me?”

“Yes. I need to show you that this can work. I’m hoping for one day, I can earn your trust.” He feels like he’s said too much and lightly bops the baby’s nose as a bit of a distraction, then hobbles to the bathroom.

“You’re overdressing just to clean rooms,” she shouts, as he enters the bathroom.

“I don’t care.” He closes the door behind him.

A slight grin lights upon Belle’s face, it’s the only thing she can do to keep herself from breaking. She returns to the bedroom to feed Baelee and after she’s finished, she’ll go down to the motel to check in on Papa. There’s no way in hell she’s going to leave him for an extended time on his own.

##  *******

Robert Gold stands in the motel office, staring into the parlor, replaying in his mind the night Belle murdered Cora. He can still see Belle on top of Cora’s lifeless body, stabbing her countless times with a sharp letter opener. The pool of blood that slowly leaked out, was the most calming thing he’s ever seen. And the splatters that was flying onto the wall every time Belle removed the opener, was like modern art being painted before his eyes. He’ll remember that poetic moment, of a mother protecting her child, for the rest of his life.

“Hey.”

Papa’s daydreaming is interrupted and he quickly turns around. His eyes fall onto the man he thinks is the motel customer.

“I’m Neal.” He steps up to the counter, extending his hand.

Papa leans on his cane, lowing his eyes to Neal’s hand, then back up to his face. “And?”

Neal puts his hand down, he knows he’s not getting a welcoming shake. “I’m saying in room seven. I checked in earlier today, but I didn’t meet you.”

“Okay.” Papa steps to the counter. He wants to try and listen to Belle, so he’s going to keep this conversation short. “Is there something wrong with your room?”  

“No, but…”

“But what?”

“I was hoping you could help me with something.”

“Does it have to do with your room?”

“No.”

“If it has nothing to do with this motel, then I can’t help you.”

“But it does have to do with the motel.”

Papa thinks something about Neal makes what Belle said about him seem off. She told Papa that the customer wanted to keep to himself, but Neal looks like a man that wants to talk. Papa knows he shouldn’t talk to him, Belle would be infuriated if he did and he wants to stay on her good side. But Belle isn’t around at this moment and for some reason she told him a lie. This only makes Papa more curious to know what Neal has to ask. “What about the motel?”

“Well, I asked the lady this morning and I didn’t get much from her, but I’m looking for someone from the Gold family. Do you know if any of them are still around?”

“What if they are, why are you looking for them?” Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, through the office window, Papa spots Belle walking down the hill with the baby. “I may know where they are,” he speaks hastily. He really wants to know what this guy is up too. “But we have to talk later.”

The features on Neal’s face are painted in confusion. “What? Why?”

“Because we can’t talk around her.” He point out the window at Belle. “So you should leave right now, before I change my mind.”

“Okay?… So when can we talk?”

“Tomorrow. I’ll come to you. Now get out!”

Neal quickly backs out of the office and returns to his room.

Papa purposely knocks a stack of travel brochures on the floor and hobbles to in front of the counter to begin picking them up.

Belle enters the office and stands in the doorway. “Why are you in here?” she asks. “You should be changing the bedding or something.”

“As you can see, all of these papers fell to the floor.” He crumples up a wad of the brochures, not giving a damn about their conditions.

Belle longingly gazes into the parlor, as flashes of that night play like a movie in her mind.

Papa notices her dazing off into the room and he quickly limps to the back of the office, closing the door. “Are you alright, lass?” He gimps back in front of the counter.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She holds Baelee closer and kisses her head.

“Alright.” He knows Belle is not like him and what she did is weighing heavily on her. “I won’t get into it then.”

“I didn’t ask you to get into anything,” she snarks at him.

“Okay…” He swoops up the rest of the travel brochures. “Well, I know you came down for something or are you just keeping an eye on me.”

“Both.”

“As you can see, I’m not doing anything. So what did you and the little nugget come all the way down here for?” He stands behind the counter.

“To let you know that you’re going to have to change back into the other outfit before you leave and…” She can’t believe she’s asking him this. “And… You have to cook dinner for Norman and me. I wouldn’t ask you, but he was cooking a Scottish dish tonight and he was gonna surprise me.”

“You want me to cook?” His eyes nearly pop out of his head.

“Yes.” She steps into the office, resting Baelee on the counter. “Like I said, I wouldn’t ask you, but I have no choice. You’ll have to cook it and then leave. I’ll take care of Norman when he comes back.”

“I’m not here to cook for you, lass.”

“I know, but if you don’t want Norman to know that you were here, you have to do it. If you don’t, he’ll go to some extreme measures to get rid of you and I won’t stop him.”

He gives her an irritated glare. “You’re getting good at this.”

“At what?”

“Manipulation.” In any other case, he would be impressed by her. He heavily sighs and looks at the clock on the wall. He has a little over two hours before the sun sets. “What was the little laddie making?” He rolls his eyes.

“I don’t know, he didn’t tell me, but whatever it is, everything for it is in the kitchen.”

“Ugh!” He slowly lurches towards the office exit.

“You don’t have to do it now.” Belle picks Baelee up from the counter.

“Knowing Norman, he probably chose something that takes hours to prepare. I’m going now to see what the damage is.”

“You know, you can just leave now and let Norman come back.”

“No.” He turns back to her. “You said I have until tonight, so I’m using all my time.”

“Okay.”

“Never ask me to do this again!” he roars.

“I won’t!” she barks back and speeds pass him, giving him a shoulder check. At this point, she doesn’t think his anger is frightening, it’s just childish. Belle rushes back up the hill to the house.

He waits until Belle in inside the house, before he makes his way up the hill.

##  *******

Robert leans on his cane in the kitchen, staring at the refrigerator door. He’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep his freedom, but he can’t believe he’s doing this shit. He opens the doors and searches inside to see what traditional Scottish meal Norman planned for Belle. He sees some familiar ingredients and can think of several meals he can make with them. But then he starts to think of Norman’s favorite and what he liked when he was a boy. Searching the back of the freezer, he finds just what he’s been looking for. Norman had already made the dough for Scottish pies. He removes the dough and other ingredients to cook a dish he hasn’t made in years.

After an hour in the kitchen, Robert has his mincemeat pies in the oven and a traditional side dish, rumbledethumps. (A dish with lightly sautéd shredded onion and cabbage, added to buttery mashed potatoes with salt and pepper. All the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together then they’re placed into an oven proof dish with cheddar sprinkled on top and its all sitting on the stove waiting for the oven.) Papa thought he would dread cooking this meal for them, but he actually enjoyed it, something he will never admit to Belle. He used to cook for Norman and he didn’t know how much he missed it, until now.

Belle enters the kitchen carrying the clothes Norman was wearing earlier. She sits them down on the table and takes a seat. “Thank you, Robert, for doing this for us.” She pushes the clothes across the table. “Norman would be devastated if he came back thinking he didn’t do anything. I have to have a story, you know, I have to tell him something.”

“I know that, lass.” He steps to the table and takes a seat.

They sit next to each other in an awkward silence. It’s the first time they’ve ever sat quietly in the same room.

“What did you make?” Belle breaks the silence. “I kinda need to know.”

“He had mutton and some pastry dough in the freezer. I figured he was making one of his favorites, Scottish pies and rumbledethumps.”

“Rumble, rumple, rumble.. de.. thumps?” Belle giggles, imagining Norman saying that with his stutter.

It’s the first time he’s seen her smile all day. Without thinking, Papa says exactly what’s on his mind. “You’re beautiful, Belle.”

She gasps and the smile erases from her face. The tone in his voice, the way those words slipped from his lips, took her completely by surprise and she didn’t like it.

Papa immediately gathers up the clothes and stands from the table. He doesn’t want anything else stupid pouring from his mouth. “I’ll change in the living room.” He hobbles out the kitchen door.

Belle sits in the kitchen and sighs. She can’t believe this is her life right now, hiding her husband’s second personality, from her husband. The whole situation gives her nothing but an eerie and odd feeling. However, Belle can’t wait to see Norman tonight. She missed him all day and she will not be without him tomorrow, without fucking him tonight.

Robert returns to the kitchen wearing Norman’s favorite black and white checkered shirt. “I fucking hate this shirt,” he mumbles, buttoning the top button on the shirt.

“Norman looks handsome in that shirt and I love it just as much as he does,” she comments.

He takes his seat back at the table and the room falls quite once again. They sit across from each other, oddly trying not to look at one another.

Belle really wants Norman back right now. “When is he coming back?”

“As soon as I wake him up.”

“Wake him up? So when he’s gone, it’s like he’s sleeping?”

“Yes, it’s exactly like that.”

“I’ve always wondered what it was like and where he went when you were here. I thought he felt trapped, locked away or something. I’m a bit relieved to know that it’s just like sleeping.”

“It is. It’s just like a very deep sleep. He’s fine, lass, he isn’t suffering where he is.”  

“Alright.”

Papa takes in a deep breath and sighs out, looking out of the window. “Well, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Belle doesn’t reply. She just wants him gone.

He rests his head on the table and closes his eyes.

Belle suddenly remembers Papa’s cane and she has to get rid of it. Norman can’t see it. She snatches it up from the side of the table and rushes to the living room, hiding the cane behind the couch.

“B-b-belle!”

She hears Norman’s cry and she’s relieved to hear his voice. She stands in front of the kitchen door and prepare herself to lie to her husband.

“Belle?”

She calmly enters the kitchen. “Yes, sweetie?”

Norman has a fearful look on his face and tears running down his cheeks. “What… W-w-what happened?”

“Oh, sweetie.” She rushes to him, taking the seat next to him and wraps her arms around him.

“What am I doing here? I can’t, I c-c-can’t remember anything.”

“You were cooking, sweetie and I was here with you, but I just stepped out to check on Bae. You must have had a blackout while I was gone.” She wipes the tears from his face. She hates seeing him like this.

“You were here with m-m-me?”

“Yes, honey. I was here with you the whole time and nothing happened to you, I promise.” It breaks her heart to lie to Norman this way. He trusts her with his life and she’s betraying that trust.

Norman pulls out of her arms and looks around the kitchen. “I was, I was c-c-cooking for you?”

“Yes and you just had a little blackout, that’s all.” She rests her hand on his cheek and wipes his tear with her thumb. “It’s okay, sweetie, you’re okay now,” she speaks softly.

“Oh, Belle.” He wraps his arms tightly around her, burying his face in her neck. He’s so relieved and feels so blessed to have such a loving wife. “I love you so much, d-d-dearie.”

She wipes the tears falling from her face. She doesn’t want Norman to see them.

“I d-d-don’t know how you’ve put up with me for five years. You t-t-take such good care of me.”

“It’s because I love you, sweetie.” She pulls out of his hug. “Are you feeling alright? Do you have a headache or need to lay down?“

“No, d-d-dearie. I’m fine.” He kisses her devotedly. “I should finish cooking.” He gazes into her eyes for a moment, tilting his head to the right. “What was I c-c-cooking?”

“Remember the Scottish meal you wanted to make for me? The Scottish pies.”

“Oh… yes… I should g-g-get them into the oven.” He stands from the table.”

“They’re already in the oven, sweetie.”

"Oh.” He opens the oven door and checks on the pies Papa made for them. “Th-th-these look great. They look j-j-just like the ones Papa would make, when he wasn’t being an ass.”

“Let’s not talk about Rob… Papa right now, sweetie.” She almost slipped out Papa’s real name. Norman still doesn’t know he has chosen one.

“I won’t. I m-m-made these pies for us, not for him. They’ve always made me happy and I wanted to share th-th-them with you.”

“You’re so sweet, Norman.” She smiles at him and stands from her chair. “Do you think they’re ready?”

“Yes, I think so.” He puts on an oven mitt and removes the pies. “I can’t wait to see Bae’s face when she tries them.”

“She’s gonna love them.” Belle stands behind Norman and wraps her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back. This is the way she wants things to always feel. Norman is her home.

##  *******

Little Baelee wakes from her nap and joins Norman and Belle for dinner. They eat together as a family, enjoying the Scottish pies Papa had no choice but to make. Moments later, Belle and Norman give the baby her bath for the night, then gather in the bedroom to play with her and watch a movie.

After getting the baby calm from a bit of play, Belle cuddles in Norman’s arm, while he holds Baelee in his other.

Norman glances down at his girls and kisses both of their cheeks. He loves the ladies in his life with all of his heart.

Belle watches the clock and time seems to be moving quickly. Norman has been back for a few hours, but to Belle it feels like he just arrived. She knows Robert will not waste any time coming back in the morning, so she must enjoy all the time she has with Norman tonight. Belle looks over to the baby and she’s fast asleep. “Her nap was very short earlier. She’s really tired, sweetie. Why don’t you go lay her down.”

“I w-w-wanted her to sleep in here with us tonight.”

“Not tonight, Norman. Please?” She kisses the baby’s cheek. “I want it to be just us.”

“Alright, d-d-dearie. I’ll go lay her down.” He carefully stands from the bed and takes Baelee to her room.

Belle turns off the tv and crawls out of the bed. She takes off her pants and changes into one of Norman’s button down shirts. She only buttons the middle button, leaving her purple lace bra exposed. She pulls the blanket to the floor and lays across the bed, waiting for her husband.

Norman returns to the room and he’s surprised to see his wife laying seductively across the bed, wearing only one of his shirts. “What are you doing, d-d-dearie?”

She gets up from the bed and meets Norman by the door, standing very close to him. “Did you close her door?” She runs her finger down the buttons of his black and white checkered shirt.

“Yes.”

“Good.” She kisses him passionately and gently bites his bottom lip, tugging on it as she pulls away. She rubs her hands on his chest and up to his shoulders, then down his arms, taking his hands in hers. “You’re trembling, Norman. Why?”

“Th-th-this was completely unexpected.”

“Oh, sweetie,” she speaks softly. “I just wanted to surprise you.”

“Well, you’ve def-d-d-definitely done that.” He licks his lips.

She smiles at him. After five years together, she can still turn him into a stuttering ball of woobie and she adores that that hasn’t changed about him. She thinks he’s precious. “Come here, Norman.” She leads him to the bed. “Sit down.”

He slowly sits, gazing up at her. “You look gorgeous in my shirt.”

“I do?” She stands in front of him, combing her fingers through his silvery hair.

“Yes, d-d-dearie.” He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her into him, resting his head on her belly. He holds her close, never wanting to let her go.

Belle feels horrible for lying to him about Papa, but it’s the only thing she can do to keep him from finding out what she did. It would kill him if he ever knew.

He lifts his head and looks up to Belle. “Sit down, d-d-dearie.”

She bites her bottom lip and straddles her legs around him, sitting on his lap. “Do you know how much I love you?” She nibbles on his neck.

“Yes,” he breaths. He can feel all the blood in his body rushing to his cock.

She moves up to his lips and kisses them, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

“Mmm.” He closes his eyes and relishes the way her tongue explored his mouth. He can still taste the meat pies on her breath.

She breaks off her kiss and licks his taste from her lips. “I’d do anything for you. Do you know that?” she whispers upon his lips.

“Yes, d-d-dearie. I know that.” He kisses her exposed breast, burying his face in her cleavage and blows.

“Norman!” she giggles, as he blows into her cleavage once again. “Sweetie!” She holds the back of his head, tangling her hands in his hair.

“You like that, d-d-dearie?”

She nods with a grin on her face.

He quickly rolls over on the bed, laying her down on her back.

“Oh, Norman. You’re so playful tonight.” Her cheeks turn rosy with laughter.

He kisses her, then climbs out of bed and unbuttons his shirt.

Belle watches him undress and her heart beats rapidly, as her pussy pulses with anticipation. She wants Norman and she needs him deep inside her and she wants to play. Belle can’t take just looking at him anymore.

He’s taking his clothes off slowly, just to tease her, and she knows it.

Belle hops out of the bed and jumps into his arms. She wraps her legs around his waist and he holds her up, grasping firmly to her ass.

“Are you trying to stop me from undressing, d-d-dearie?”

“No.” She kisses him softly. “You were going so slow, that I needed to help you.” She slides the shirt off of his shoulders and it falls to the floor.

“B-b-but I liked going slow.” He smirks. He really enjoys teasing her.

“I bet you do.” She lowers her legs to the floor and kisses him, turning him towards the bed. She backs him up to the bed and he sits down.

“We’re b-b-back where we started.”

“I know.” She sits in his lap and grinds herself against him.

“Uhh…” he grunts. The bulge in his pants grows tighter to the thrust of her hips. He never got the chance to take them off.

“Do you like that?”

“Yes, dearie.” His voice is low.

She pushes him down against the bed and rolls her hips against him faster. She takes off her shirt and tosses it to the floor. She leans forward and kisses him intensely, as her hips continue to buck.

“Oh, Belle,” he sighs. He needs to get out of his pants and free of its constriction. He rolls Belle over in the bed, laying with his hips still between her legs and rubbing his bulge against her moistening panties. He needs to get the pants off, but he’s enjoying the friction in them also. He’s never been so aroused from dry humping his wife.  "Ah… Ah…“ His hips buck.

Belle caresses his chest and gently pinches his nipples. They’re so sensitive and she knows he liked it. She unbuttons her front fasting bra and Norman instantly plants his hand on her soft warm breast.

He stares at her body like it’s the first time he’s ever seen it. She’s still as beautiful as the day they met. Norman suddenly stops humping her and sits up to his knees. The feeling is all too much for him and it’s time to take off the pants.

Norman was afraid of coming in them and that would be a tragedy. He has to come in his wife.  

Norman’s hands fusses over his belts buckle, he can’t get it off fast enough.

"Slow down, sweetie,” Belle giggles and helps him with the buckle. She unhooks it and whips the belt out of the loops, then tosses it across the room.

“Thank you, dearie.” He pulls his pants and boxer briefs down together, as his hard, thick, cock springs out freely from its cotton prison. He gazes down at his wife with a crooked grin, as beads of pre-come drip down his member and lands on Belle’s soaked panties. He rubs his hand over her panties just to feel her wetness, then brings his hands to his nose and take a deep breath, breathing in her scent. Norman loves her aroma and will never be tired of it. “Mmmm.” His eyes rolls back and his body shivers.

Oh how he craves her.

Belle rubs on her breast and down to her panties, slipping one hand inside.

Norman quickly grabs her hand, removing it from her panties. “That’s mine, d-d-dearie.”

“I didn’t know, sweetie.” She smirks and sucks on her finger. She got it just deep enough to dip into her juices. “What are you gonna do now?”

He takes her panties in his hand and rips them apart.

“Oh!” Her body jerks to the force of his rip. “You haven’t done that in a while.” she speaks breathy.

Norman has never ripped her panties, this is the first time he has done it. Belle still thinks it was Norman that fucked her the day she gave birth to Baelee, but it was actually Papa. Papa fucked her into labor that night and Norman knew it and he knew she liked it. Now he’s using what he learned from Papa, to satisfy his wife. “You love that, d-d-don’t you?” He leans into her and caresses his nose across her face. “You like it rough,“ he whispers upon her skin.

“Not always, sweetie.” She draws him into her and kisses his lips.

He breaks away from her embrace. “But you do like it that way.”

She gazes into his eyes and strokes her hand across his cheek. She can tell somethings on his mind. “Norman, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He feels as though he can never tell her.

"Are you sure?”

“Yes.” He yanks her torn panties from under her and throws them to the floor. He kisses her roughly and she turns him over in the bed, laying on top of him.

“I don’t want it rough tonight.” She tenderly kisses down his neck.

“You d-d-don’t?”

“No, sweetie.” Belle straddles Norman’s lap, so that his hard thickness lays down pressed between his stomach and the wet lips of her pussy. She slides herself up along his length, teasing him.

Norman bites his lower lip watching both Belle and her lips fluttering over his blunt tip. “Ah… Ah…” He closes his eyes, thinking of nothing but the feeling of her cunt teasing him. “Oh, Belle… Ooh, Belle…” he breathes heavily, slowly rocking his hips forward.

She massages him faster, rubbing his dick across the brim of her, while beads of his pre-come collect in a small pool on his stomach.

Norman doesn’t know how much longer he can hold back his urge to come. He wanted to come inside her, but the way she’s working him doesn’t leave much of a chance for that to happen. Norman wishes his wife would let his cock slip inside her, just to feel the warm walls of her cunt clenching around him, but what he’s feeling now is working all the same. It feels incredible. With his dick slipping and sliding between the lips of her folds, it’s all building up to be too much.

She tilts forward, resting her hands on his shoulders, holding herself above him. Belle grinds her pussy onto his cock, as her essence drip on him, keeping all the rasping nice and slippery. “Mmm.” She closes her eyes and combs her fingers through her hair, removing it from her face. “How does that feel, sweetie?”

“Uhh… Uhh…” he grunts. He can’t bring himself to speak. Norman slides his hands down her back and stops at her ass, giving her a squeeze. He separates her cheeks and runs his finger over her tight hole, then slowly pushes it inside her.

“Ahh…” she moans to the pressure of his finger entering her and her hands claw into his shoulders.

Norman fucks her ass with his finger, moving it in and out of her, as the urge to come grows greater and he can’t fight it anymore. His balls tighten between his legs and his body stiffens. Norman comes prematurely on his stomach and that’s not what he wanted to happen. “Ahh…” he whimpers as his creamy substance squirts all over him. The release is amazing, but he feels guilty. “I’m s-s-sorry, Belle.” He breaths and his body trembles. He knows she wasn’t close to being finished.

“Shhh.” She lays on his chest, trying to calm her husbands timidness.

“I’m so s-s-sorry, Belle. You weren’t ready.”

“It’s okay, Norman. Just because you came, doesn’t mean we’re finished.” She removes his finger from her ass, then crawls up to the head of the bed resting her back against the headboard and spreads her legs wide open.

Norman watches, still laying on his back, as Belle slips her fingers between her folds and caresses her pink harden bud.

“Whenever you’re ready, you can come join me.” She feasts her eyes on him, as she pleasures herself, aroused by the post orgasm bliss on his face. With his seed spilled on his belly and breathing heavily, she thinks he’s beautiful gazing back at her. Belle can’t wait to see more if his sexual ecstasy.

Only seconds after Belle started to fondle herself, Norman rolls over and crawls up to her pussy, moving her hand away. “I t-t-told you this was mine.” He grins and rubs his hand over her dark curls.

“If it’s yours, then you should play with it.”

“I will, d-d-dearie.” He caresses his face over her bush. He feels her soft curls across his skin and the sensation wakes up his softening dick, bring it back to life. He slowly eases his thumb into her opening, massaging her inside walls.

“Mmm, oh, Norman,” she whispers.

He wraps his lips around her sensitive bundle of nerves, sucking it into his mouth. He slowly pulls away, stretching the skin until it slips out of lips, then put his lips on her again. Norman flicks his tongue over her clit, feeling the electric jolts pulsing through his wife.

Belle plants her hand on the back of his head, tangling her fingers in his hair.

Norman removes his thumb from her opening and glides his hand up her body, taking hold of her breast. He lightly squeezes, being very careful not to get too rough with her. She wants him to be gentle and he loves being gentle to her. He rolls her nipple between his fingers, as he scrapes his tongue across the length of her pussy, savoring her taste. Norman buries his face in her juicy cunt and the smacking sound she makes send tingles down his spine. He licks up the essence from between her legs, daring not to waste a single drop. Norman digs his face deeper into her, not coming up for a breath of air.

“Ahh, ahh!” she moans loudly and hopes that she doesn’t wake the baby. Belle covers her mouth with her hand to muddle the sounds of her passionate moans. “Mmm, mmm, mmm,” she hums in her hand, as Norman dips his tongue into her opening. “Oh… shit…” She curls her toes and her legs quiver uncontrollably. “Ooh, oh, fuck me, Norman,” she murmurs. She needs to feel his rigid cock inside her.

But Norman doesn’t stop, he doesn’t even hear her muddled cry. He’s too deep in her pussy, drowning in her sexual extract. He flicks his tongue faster, eating her out until she can’t take anymore. He massages his fingers over her pink bud, slowly adding a little pressure to his circular motion. Norman is redeeming himself from coming early, now he needs her to come on his face.

Belle’s hand falls from her lips and back to his head, balling her hands in a fist full of hair. She tugs at it, as she feels herself inching towards her climax. She whimpers trying not to be loud, but she can’t control it. “Fuck, fuck!” Belle’s body shudders and she breathes heavily, as her intoxicating orgasm ignites across her body. “Ah, ah, ah,” she pants, closing her eyes tightly, as she comes on her husband’s face.

Norman opens his mouth and drinks the liquid squirting from her pussy, then buries his face back into her drenched throbbing cunt. He continues to eat out his wife, he wants her to beg him to stop.

Her body trembles uncontrollably and she can’t take the sensation of his tongue between her legs anymore. She squirms in the bed, pulling her body away from him, but he follows her and reconnects his lips back with the lips of her folds.

Norman needs to hear her say it.

She knows he’ll just follow if she tries moves again, so she does the only thing left to do. “Please, Norman… Please stop.”

He instantly complies and his head pops up from between her thighs. Norman’s face glistens with the nectar of her sex. He licks his lips, as he crawls to the head of the bed and lays next to his panting wife. He wraps his arms around her and her body quivers with orgasm. He rest his hand under her chin and lifts her head to him. Norman kisses Belle devotedly, smearing the wetness from his face to her, parting his lips to welcome her tongue and she accepts the offer.

A sudden burst of energy flows through Belle and she sits in Normans lap, sliding his thick cock inside her slippery folds. Belle isn’t sure how much longer the baby well stay asleep, so she needs to fuck her husband senseless as fast as she can. He won’t be with her tomorrow and she wants to give him something to think about while he’s gone. She rest her forehead against his and looks into her eyes, as she rides his dick.

Norman thought they were finished, he didn’t expect more. He kisses her lips and grabs her ass with both hands, giving her cheeks another proper squeeze.

Belle pounces on top of him, ramming his member deep inside her. His cock slips out and she instantly puts it back inside. She grinds her cunt against him, clutching the walls of her opening around him. “I love you, Norman.”

“Ahhh!” His eyes roll back with pleasure and he can’t find the word to speak. He says these three words to her everyday, but they won’t fall from his lips. Norman is drunk with sex. “B-b-b-belle.” His stutter is thicker than ever.

She arches her back, planting her hands on his knees. “Ooh, gods.”

Neither of them are going to last long.

Norman wraps his hand lightly around her neck, then rubs it down her body, all the way to her folds and he caresses her extremely sensitive pearl.

“Oh, yes… Yes…” A second orgasm sweeps through her and her body starts to spasm once again.

Norman comes strong inside his wife, just what he wanted to do all night. He bucks his hips, filling her up with all that he has. Once the flow of his seed stops, his body weakens and he falls back against the headboard.

Belle collapse on top of him, resting her head on his shoulder. She can feel his dick twitching inside her throbbing pussy, as the essence of their sex drips down to the mattress.

With exhilarating orgasms pulsating through them, they lay motionless, trying to catch their breath.

Several minutes passes and Norman’s motor skills returns to him. “Where did that come from?” He can’t believe the intense sex he had. They just fucked each other like it was their last day on earth.

“We haven’t done it in a month.”

“I know.”

She peppers his neck with kisses. “But the reason why we haven’t, doesn’t really matter.”

“Th-th-there was a reason why we didn’t have sex for a month?”

She didn’t mean to say anything that would make him ask questions. “That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean, d-d-dearie?”

“I don’t know, I was just talking.” She kisses his lips and pulls his cock out of her, as she stands from the bed. With his thick come slowly trickling down the inside of her thighs, she finally removes the purple lace bra from her shoulders and drops it. Belle picks up the blanket from the floor and covers Norman with it, then cuddles under it next to him.

“Thank you, d-d-dearie.” He holds her against his heart and kisses the crown of her head.

“You’re welcome.” She lays on his bare chest and absorbs this moment with him, then a sudden thought comes to her. Belle starts to think about what she learned about Norman’s childhood. What Papa said to her, picked a strange time to pop into her head. But then she also thinks that if Norman starts to talk to her about it, get some of those dark memories out in front of them, maybe it can reduce Papa’s appearance. At least, that’s what she hopes. Belle knows Norman doesn’t need Papa and Papa has told her this before, but for some reason he keeps returning. “Norman?”

“Yes?”

“This might be a bit strange…”

“Whatever it is, d-d-dearie, you can ask.”

“I know you don’t like talking about it, but I was hoping, maybe you can start opening up to me about your childhood.”

“Belle, why are you asking me th-th-this?” He isn’t upset about her asking, he’s just surprised as to where this is coming from.

She looks up to him, still resting her head against his beating heart. “I get to know all of these other parts of you, except that one. I wanna know everything about you, Norman, and I think it’s about time that I get too.”

“Belle.” He’s voice is low and breathy. “I don’t know. I d-d-don’t know, Belle. That part of my life was horrible and I’ve told you that before.”

“I know that, sweetie, but you haven’t really talked about it. To be honest, I don’t think I can go on without knowing. I love you so much and there’s nothing you can say that will scare me away. You were just a child when those things happened to you. I want to help you.”

“But I’ve been g-g-getting better. Papa haven’t been here since the baby was born and when I have a b-b-blackout, you’re always here for me.”

“I know that, but…”

“But what?” He asked sternly and his stutter disappears. It always vanishes when he gets upset. “Where is this coming from, Belle?”

“I’ve been thinking it for awhile.”

“Do you still think I’m sick?” He takes his arm from around her. “Because I’m not.”

“I think you’ve been doing very good, sweetie.” She lies to calm him down. She can’t tell him about Papa coming back, at least not yet.  

They sit silently for a moment, staring at the wall with their hands in their laps.

Belle knew this would make him upset, but she has to do something. She has to try to keep Papa from coming back without Norman knowing what she did to Cora.

“Wait,” Norman speaks more calmly, breaking the silence.

“Yes, Norman?” Belle faces him.

“I’ve been thinking and I think you’re right.”

“You do?”

“Yes. But If I do this, if I t-t-tell you what happened to me, will you tell me what’s b-b-been bothering you?”

“What?” His statement catches her off guard.

“I want to help you too and I th-th-think we should help each other.” He wraps his arm back around her. “You’ve been trying to hide it, d-d-dearie. But you forget that I know what the face of someone carrying something heavy looks like.”

Belle swallows hard. She didn’t know he suspected anything was wrong. Did she change that much? And he really knew there was a reason why they haven’t had sex in a month, but he never said anything. He respected whatever her reason was for not being intimate. Belle takes a moment and thinks. Maybe Norman won’t be as devastated as she thought. Maybe he can truly help her and not run away from her, physically or mentally. Maybe this will get rid of Papa once and for all. “You’re not upset with me for keeping something from you?”

“No. I’ve kept m-m-many things from you and told you countless lies. I have no reason to be upset with you for keeping something from me. You’re just d-d-doing what I’ve done to you many time.”

“Oh, Norman.” She wraps her arms around him tightly, feeling as if a thousand pound weight has been lifted from her shoulders. “Alright, sweetie.” She kisses him firmly, then breaks away from his lips.

“But not today.” They speak in unison and stare shockingly at each other. “Then when?” They speak as one for a second time and now neither of them wants to open their mouths.

“How about we just say soon.” Norman speaks first.

“Alright. I’m good with soon.” She rest her hand on his cheek, feeling closer to him than she’s has in awhile. “You’ve made me happy tonight, Norman.”

“I did?”

“Yes, sweetie. I think we’ve opened a new door to the right direction for us.”

“You might be right about that, d-d-dearie.” He kisses her cheek, then lays down in the bed.

“What are you doing, silly?” She smiles down on him, stroking her fingers through his hair.

“I th-th-think we should try to get some sleep before Bae wakes up. You know she will.”

“Yes, she will.” Belle snuggles into him, resting her head on his chest.

“Goodnight, Belle.”

She kisses his smooth chest. “Goodnight.”

“Oh! I love you too.” He finally returns her affectionate words.

“I know you do.” Belle rest a bit easier knowing that she will soon have a talk with Norman about his past and possibly getting her horrible secret off her chest. She’s hoping Norman will be able take the news as well as she thinks. He’s healthier than he was a few years ago and a lot more stronger. Being honest with each other is the best thing for them and this will break her deal with Papa. Belle can’t wait to rub this all in Papa’s face.

##  *******

Belle wakes early the next morning. She knows Robert Gold will not hold back showing up today and she doesn’t want him awake before her. She takes a shower and dresses, then prepares Baelee for the day. Belle feeds the baby her breakfast, dresses her in clean clothes and spends most of the morning together on the first floor of the house. After being up for hours, and well past Norman’s usual wake up time, Belle marches up stairs to kick Robert out of their bedroom.

She stands over him and watches him sleep. He looks peaceful and adorable, all bundled up in the plush thick comforter, surrounded by fluffy pillows. If this was Norman cuddled up in the bed like this, she’d let him sleep or wake him with sweet kisses, but it’s not Norman. Belle yanks the pillow from under his head and hits him with it. “Get. Out. Of. Our. Bed.” The pillow crashes down on him with each syllable.

“What the fuck!” He shields himself from her blows with his arms.

“Get. Out.” She hits him again.

“Okay! Okay!” Robert rolls out of bed, naked. “What the fuck, Belle?” He barks at her, staring her square in the eyes.

“It’s a simple command. Get out of me and my husband’s bed.”

“You don’t have to be such a bitch about it.”

“I can be as much of a bitch to you as I want.”

“And what gives you the fucking right?”

“You won’t be here long.” She storms out of the room.

Papa doesn’t know what she meant by that, but right now he really doesn’t care. He looks down at his naked body, knowing how desperate Belle was to have Norman last night, he thinks it’s best to take a shower.

After Belle rudely awoken Robert, she heads down to the motel, with the baby, to check in on their customer to make sure he has everything needed for his stay and that he remains clueless about the Gold family. Belle stands outside of cabin seven and knocks on the door.

*knock, knock, knock*

Seconds later the door swings opens and Neal greats Belle with a warm smile. “Good morning, miss.”

“Good morning. I’m just checking in on you and seeing how you’re enjoying your stay.”

“Thank you.“ He smirks. “My stay has been quite interesting.”

“Really?”

“In a good way, miss” he quickly adds. “In a good way.”

“Alright.”

“It’s a nice day out, don’t you think?” He leans against the threshold.

“Yes, it is beautiful.”

“It’s not as beautiful as the little one you’re holding there, but the day is quite nice.”

“Well, thank you.” Belle kisses the baby’s cheek. “She appreciates that.”

“It’s the truth.”

“I’m happy to hear you’re enjoying your stay, l’ll leave you alone now. Maintenance will be around to cleanup the room soon.”

“I won’t be needing maintenance today, miss.”

“Alright. You have a good day then.” She heads toward the office.

“Oh!” Neal steps out of his room. “I never caught your name.”

She turns to face him. “That’s because I never told you my name.”

“I’d just like to know. In case I need to call you for anything.”

Belle knows exactly what he’s doing and she’s not going to give him what he wants. “I’m Belle French.”

“Nice to finally meet you Miss. French.” He gives her another warm smile.

Belle nods to him. “Have a nice day.” She continues her stroll to the office.

Robert Gold limps down the steps on the hill to meet Belle in the office. He doesn’t know where his cane is and he needs it. He shuffles inside and finds Belle in the parlor, dragging out Baelee’s swing. “What are you doing?” He gimps to the back of the office.

“What does it looking like, I’m throwing this away. I don’t ever want her in it again.”

“Why?”

“Because is was sitting in blood.”

“But I cleaned it, lass.”

“I don’t care.” She tosses the swing out of the parlor.

“Let me help you.” He picks the swing up from the floor.

“I don’t need your help.”

“I’m just going to take it out to the trash for you.”

“I can do it, just drop it!”

“Okay.” He drops the swing back onto the floor.

Belle picks up Baelee and the swing from the floor, then heads to the door.

Baelee reaches for Robert, as Belle walks past him. She thinks he’s her father.

"No, no, sweetie. That’s not daddy.” Belle switches the baby to her other arm so she can’t reach for Papa.

“She knows the difference between us, Belle.”

“No she doesn’t. She’s just a baby.”

“Then why did she turn into a little monster when I had her yesterday?”

“Even though you think you’re Norman’s father, you know nothing about children. She wasn’t crying because she knew the difference between you two. She was crying because you have no clue how to take care of her.” She drags the baby swing behind, as she scuffles to the door.

Papa thinks she’s wrong, he knows how to take care of children, but he’s not going to let her words get under his skin. “Belle?” He catches her before she’s completely out the door.

“Ugh! What?” She turns to him.

“Have you seen my cane? I need it.”

“No you don’t. Norman walks perfectly fine without a cane.”

“But I’m not Norman.” He speaks through his teeth.

“You may think we have some understanding here, but we really don’t.” She drops the swing. “I talked to Norman last night.”

“So, you’re always talking to him.”

“He’s going to talk to me about his past, we’re going to open up to each other and I’m going to help him.” She steps close to him. “You’ve told me before that Norman doesn’t need you, but you’re still here and I finally think I know why.”

“What the hell do you think you know, lass?”

“His childhood is the only thing he doesn’t talk to me about and I think you have something to do with what happened to him as a child.”

Papa stands motionless, slowly filling with rage. 

“Now he’s going to open up to me about it. Whatever you did, whatever you think you’re protecting him from, I’m going to know it. And I’ll protect him. That’s going to be the first step of getting rid or you permanently.”

A fiendish grin curls upon his face and he laughs to himself. “Norman isn’t going to tell you anything, because he doesn’t know shit. Have you ever noticed how I can remember things and he can’t? There’s a reason for that, lass. Have fun trying to get rid of me permanently.”

"You’re lying.”

“I have no reason to lie.”

Belle glares into his eyes. “Yes you do.” She turns away from him and picks up the swing, dragging it out of the office. She suddenly stops and circles around. “I may not be rid of you yet, but while you’re here you’re still going to follow the rules,” she commands. “The guy in room seven still wants to be left alone, so don’t bother him.” She rushes out the door, leavening the baby swing behind.

Papa doesn’t feel threatened at all by what Belle said, he knows Norman can’t talk about things he can’t remember.

Even though Belle has been nothing but extremely unpleasant to Robert, he still wants to make their situation work. So he tries to get some of the motel grounds work finished, before he talks to the curious patron in cabin seven.

##  *******

The morning passes and Robert spends his afternoon limping around the motel, checking the light bulbs in each room. He knows there’s more work that Norman likes to do during his rounds, but Papa doesn’t see a point in changing the linens if they haven’t been used. He check all the cabin except for room seven, he wants Belle to think he’s listening to her. He thinks she’s watching him from the house, so he’ll wait a little longer before giving Neal a visit.

An hour after checking the bulbs and watering the potted outdoor plants, Papa think it’s the best time to meet up with the guy in room seven. He has been watching the house and haven’t seen Belle’s shadow in over thirty minutes, so he knocks on the door.

Neal opens the door to the man he met in the office yesterday and he’s a bit surprised to see him in the same black suit, but he doesn’t mention it. “Good afternoon, please come in,” he welcomes Robert.

Papa steps inside and Neal closes the door.

“Can I get you anything?”

“What can you possibly have in this room that you can offer me?” Papa sneers.

“I went down to that diner this morning and picked up a few bagels. They’re not like the ones in New York, but I wanted to have something for when you came to see me.”

The smug look erases from Papa’s face. “Oh.” He limps to the bed and takes a seat. “No thank you.”

“Alright.” Neal sits on top of the dresser by the door and gazes at Papa with a grin on his face.

The way Neal is looking at him is making Papa a bit uneasy. “Why are you looking at me like that and what do you want?”

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a little excited. We should move on with this.”

“Move on with what?”

“About my questions about the Gold’s, but I think I already have my answer.”

“What do you mean? I haven’t answered anything.”

“I’ll just show you.” He jumps off the dresser and digs into a bag sitting on a chair by the bed. “I didn’t notice until after I talked to you in the office yesterday.” He pulls out a small bundle of Polaroid pictures. “I’m looking for someone in the Gold family that worked here about thirty years ago and I think I just found him.” He hands Papa the photos and he snatches them out of Neal’s hands.

Robert looks through the three photos and they’re all self taken pictures of a couple lying in a bed, smiling into the camera and kissing. Papa instantly notices one person in the photos, a twenty-three year old Norman Gold. “Where the hell did you get these?”

“My mother gave them to me.”

“Your mother?” He looks at the photos again and recognizes the woman. “Milah.” The name quietly slips from his lips. “Milah Cassidy is your mother?”

“Yes, Mr. Gold,” Neal answers.

Moments of that night in the pictures, play in Papa’s mind.

*Thirty years ago Papa was the dominant personality and could go for days without Norman surfacing. Norman couldn’t say for do anything about it. He was a weak coward and under Papa’s full control.

That night in the photos, a woman checked into the motel whose beauty captivated Papa, much like Cora’s did. They spent the night making love and snapped these photos to remember their time together. Milah checked out the next morning, taking the photos with her and Papa never seen her again.*

“What are you saying here, laddie?” Papa looks up to Neal shocked and a bit frightened, an emotion he’s not familiar with.

“I think you have an idea.” Neal smiles.

Papa’s eyes widen. That grin on his face looks almost like his own. “I have to go.” He stands from the bed and hobbles to the door.

“Wait, Mr. Gold. I know how this is shocking, but I don’t want anything from you. I just wanted to meet you and possibly get to know you.”

“You don’t wanna know me, laddie.” He opens the door to Belle, raising her hand to knock and clutching Papa’s cane.

“What are you doing in here?” Belle is astonished to find Robert at the door.

“Leaving.” He takes his cane from her and steps past her.

“Mr. Gold, please wait.”

“Mr. Gold?” Belle chases after Papa. “What the hell did you tell him? I told you to stay away from him.”

Neal follows behind them.

“Well, apparently I didn’t.” Papa rushes to the office and stands behind the counter.

“He was snooping around here asking questions. Do you know what someone asking questions around here could lead to?”

“Yes, I know that, but he isn’t like that.”

“How do you know?” She steps to in front of the counter.

“Because I just know.”

Neal enters the office.

“How?” She demands to know the answer.

Robert glances to Neal standing in the doorway, then looks to Belle. “Because he’s my son. He came here looking for his father.”

Belle takes in a sharp breath and turns to Neal. He looks back at her with the same puppy dog brown eyes and shy smile Norman always flashes at her. “No.” She turns back to Papa. “No, no, no.” Belle gawks at him in disbelief.

“It appears to be true, lass.”

Belle’s body trembles with anger. She’s sick of Robert interfering in Norman’s life. “I don’t believe you, Robert.”

Neal observes the situation confused. He doesn’t understand why she just called him Robert.

“Norman was a virgin when I met him. He’s only had sex with me!” Tears begin to stream down her face.

“Norman was a virgin when he met you, but I wasn’t.”

“What’s going on here.” Neal interrupts. He needs answers. “You’re not Norman Gold? Are you his twin brother or something? My mom said my father’s name was Norman.”

Belle rushes behind the counter and stands right in front of Robert. “You used his name?”

“I didn’t have my own then.”

“You’re sick.” She pokes his shoulder with her index finger. “You’ve taking so much from him.”

“Don’t touch me, lass.”

“Holy shit!” A thought suddenly dawns on her. “Her name, Bae’s name, she’s named after him.”

“No she isn’t.”

“Cassidy?” She reminds Papa of the baby’s middle name.

“Oh. I forgot about that.”

“I bet you fucking did.” Her face turns red with fury. “Norman knew. He might not know everything you do, but deep down inside he knows something. He’s not the stuttering idiot you think he is.”

“Miss French?” Neal steps out of the doorway. “I think it might be best for you to calm down. I know you’re a mother and you shouldn’t over work yourself.”

“Do you know what this son of a bitch has done?” She snaps at Neal.

“No, miss, I can’t say that I do, but I’m just trying to help. I don’t want to see anyone getting hurt.”

“I think you should listen to him, lass.”

“Shut up!” she howls at Papa. “I hate you.” She digs her finger into his shoulder again.

“I said don’t touch me.”

“I hate you. I hate what you’ve done to Norman.” She takes a steps closer to him and he backs away. “I hate what you’ve done to me and I hate what you are.” She pokes him again. “I wish you were fucking gone!”

“Sadly, sweetheart, you can’t make my leave.”

“The hell I can.” She punches him directly in the face. All of her stress, guilt and anger just exploded in this moment.

Papa’s head flies back, then he snaps it back into place, giving her the impish grin and giggle she haven’t seen or heard in years. “Nice try, lass.”

Belle punches him again, harder than she did before and his whole body falls back, hitting his head on the wall.

“Oh, shit!” Neal dashes to his father’s aid.

Papa is knocked out cold.

“Fuck, lady! You have some right hook.”

“He fucking deserved it.” She stands over him feeling so relieved. She’s been wanting to hit him for a truly long time. Seconds later, Belle’s relief turns into guilt, as she realizes she just knocked out her husband. “Norman!” She falls to her knees next to him, in complete disbelief of what she’s done. She never meant to hurt her love.

“Norman?” Neal gazes at Belle with shock. “I thought you said this was Robert.”

“It is… It was… I don’t know which one he is anymore.”

“I don’t think I’m understanding, Miss French.”

“Norman?” she speaks softly and shoves Norman’s unconscious body, desperately trying to wake him up. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” whimpers, wiping her tears.

“I thought this was Robert,” Neal states again. He really needs answers.

“Is what you say true? About your father?”

“Yes, miss, my mother would never lie to me about that.”

She sniffles and whips away more tears. “The man laying here is Robert and Norman Gold.”

“What?” He looks down at the man he thinks is his father, trying to process what she’s just told him.

“My husband is sick.” She rests her hand over his heart. “He suffers from a mental condition caused by childhood trauma. He has two personalities.”

Neal is speechless. He doesn’t know what to think.

Suddenly, the baby monitor in Belle’s back pocket goes off and the motel office fills with Baelee’s cries. Belle quickly grabs Norman’s arm, trying to pick him up. “You have to help me get him back to the house.”

Neal stares at her breathing heavily, still processing the information.

“Please, help me! Norman can’t wake up like this.”

He snaps out of his daze and nods. “Alright, alright.”

They each grab one of Norman’s arms, wrapping him around their shoulders. They drag him to the front of the office and Belle turns off the motel’s neon sign. They carry his unconscious body up the steps on the hill and take Norman Gold into the house.


End file.
